ORGANIZATIONS WEIGH IN ON SPORTS AND THE ECONOMY ------------------------------------------------------------- NSGA

asked some national sports organization leaders for their thoughts on sports being recession/inflation proof in 2023.

PAT KELLEHER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR USA HOCKEY

It’s been said that youth sports are near recession-proof because parents sacrifice for their children. Regardless of whether or not that premise has merit in hockey, we need to be cognizant of the realities the economy can have on families, rink operators, manufacturers and all the partners within our industry. It’s important we strive to make hockey as affordable as possible for families. We need to be intentional about how we introduce families to our sport, then provide a welcoming and inclusive environment that allows them to fall in love with hockey at their own pace, and ultimately develop a lifelong passion for the sport.

Adrienne Isaac

DIRECTOR MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

NATIONAL SKI AREAS ASSOCIATION

Like all industries, the success of snow sports is impacted by macroeconomic events like recessions (see also the gas crisis and recession in the early 1990s). However, we saw that skiing and riding have become somewhat “recession-proof,” especially as that 2008–09 recession coincided with the birth of the Epic Pass. Multi-mountain passes and reduced-price season passes — and the trend of pre-season advance purchase — have helped the ski industry weather recessions better than other industries. After the pandemic, people really wanted to get outside, and snow time is a wonderful replacement for screen time. The combination of reduced financial barriers to entry along with the prioritization of physical and mental wellness in our culture can contribute to the success of snowsports despite what’s happening on a macro level. Inflation might affect skiing and riding a little differently. During the 2020-21 season, as the U.S. was slowly creeping out of the height of the pandemic, demand for skiing persisted even as public health guidelines and local restrictions on travel and capacity made it a bit trickier to get to the slopes. Folks stayed closer to home, in many cases reducing visitation for destination resorts but increasing it for more local, drive-market ski areas. Inflation might reduce your travel or desire to buy new gear, but I think that snow sports will remain strong as skiers and riders are a dedicated bunch. Plus, a day on the hill can be an escape from the realities of everyday life, letting you breathe in fresh air and be out in nature, moving your body and sliding down the terrain of your choice.

Anecdotally, a recession might bring in new folks to mountain communities and new members to the ski area workforce. I moved to Colorado for grad school in 2008 and never left, joining the ski industry when journalism (my original planned career) was taking a big hit. My partner moved to Colorado in the early 1990s with an MBA to be a lift-op for a season until things settled down economically. He was pulled into the payroll department his first day on the job, which led to a 30-year career in ski area finance. We learned of many young people who took a gap year during the pandemic and moved to ski towns to work at ski areas. A passion for the outdoors and a necessary change in career could develop folks into the next generation of ski-area leadersan unexpected silver lining to some of these largescale events.

MICHAEL KARON

NATIONAL PRESIDENT

AMERICAN YOUTH SOCCER ORGANIZATION

In our experience, it is generally true that parents will do what they can to give their children the opportunity to participate in youth soccer programs. Their ability to accomplish this depends largely on two factors: the availability of programming that meets their lifestyle needs and the cost of soccer programs relative to other programming choices they can make.

What we’ve seen since the Great Recession of 2008 is that less affluent communities have less access to youth recreational programming because of the budget pressures on local school districts and municipalities which make it more difficult to provide programming. In more affluent communities, families are more easily able to pay the increased costs necessary to run these programs and, consequently, more program choices are available. I recently reviewed one study that suggested there are more kids in the US without access to programming than there are kids who are currently participating in US Soccer member programs. Looking forward, it seems reasonable to expect that in a future recession, we will see this divide get worse.

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